Friends of the Round Mountain School

With the departure of the Indians from Central Texas and the arrival of the railroad line through Leander in 1882, many families began to settle the area of northwestern Travis County. From 1866 until 1898, settlers could apply for a Texas Preemption Grant and get title to a 160 acres tract with the only stipulation being that they live for three years on the acreage and make improvements. Many settlers took advantage of the opportunity in this area, and they named their community Round Mountain for a nearby and prominent landmark.

The Round Mountain one-room schoolhouse, located at 14340 Round Mountain Road, west of Leander, Texas, was originally built as a log building in the 1870s to serve the early settlers in our area. Around 1900 the schoolhouse, and the land it was on, were given as a charitable trust to the entire Round Mountain community, which was, at that time, the Round Mountain Common School District. The original log building was rebuilt as a frame building in 1920, but burned in 1927. The community donated money and supplies, and the building was rebuilt, as it stands today, by 1929. After the 1945 school year, students from the area were bussed into Leander, and the old schoolhouse served as a community center, which it still does today, for parties, weddings, voting and other community social activites.

The Friends of Round Mountaion School was established as a 501(c)3 organization in 2023 to replace the Charitable Trust established in 1974 to manage the schoolhouse on behalf of the larger surrounding community, and is responsible for the maintenance of the old schoolhouse and the grounds around it. FoRMS also handles requests from community members for use of the building. If you would like to sechedule and event, public or private, at the community center, please email us and the FoRMS will be glad to host your event.

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